The Inspirium

How Should I Live?

No matter our gender or ethnicity, selflessness is a quality we all long for, whose absence brings us pain; we seek it everywhere, but especially outside of ourselves - Rachel Shteir

As with all pages on this website, the purpose here is to encourage your exploration. Since each person is unique, any answer to 'How should I live?' will be your decision.

As background, let's look at a brief summary of psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Most people reading these pages will have addressed the early needs on Maslow's list. Some will feel a deep desire for something as yet unquantifiable, perhaps to understand life, or for a sense of meaning and purpose.

Some of the ways Western people choose to live are:

acquiring possessions. This is a common response to increasing wealth and leisure time.

seeking out pleasure, including food and entertainment.

accumulating experiences such as travel, or trying new things.

engaging in a period (even a lifetime) of study.

devoting one's life to family and friends, usually in combination with one or more of the foregoing.

expressing creativity, in fields such as art, writing, music, dance. If other people are also enriched, it moves beyond mere self-expression.

engaging in service, such as helping those in need, or trying to save the planet.

expanding awareness of existence, and of their unique place within it.

The latter relates to Maslow's self-actualisation. Self-actualisation begins in uncovering one's unique reason for being. This is usually a combination of what you do really well (often so well that you take it for granted), and that which brings special joy and vitality into your life. Ultimately self-actualisation expresses itself in what Frankl referred to as self-transcendence: moving beyond an egocentric focus to the essence that lies beneath and beyond your personality. Answering the question of how to live has preoccupied deep-thinking humans since we first appeared on Earth. Clearly, the answers deserve deep personal consideration over time.